A Great Year
by Sameolhoo
Summary: Rey is an exchange student at the prestigious Corellia University and intends to make the most out of her year abroad. College AU. Reylo.
1. Chapter 1

This was going to be a good year. Scratch that, this is going to a _great_ year. And nothing was going to stop her from having fun.

Rey was in such a great mood when she landed at the Coronet City international airport that she wasn't even upset she had missed the shuttle that was supposed to take her to her new dorm. She would just have to wait for the next batch of international students to arrive and take the next bus. Completely sleep deprived, she opened her luggage and pulled out the fluffiest jacket she had brought with her from England and started making herself comfortable at the airport terminal.

She hadn't even finished adjusting the seat when someone gently tapped on her shoulder.

"Excuse me… I uh… I was… are you by any chance waiting for the Corellia University shuttle?" a boy asked nervously. He was tall, handsome and muscular, and Rey couldn't help but admire his features.

"Yes! My flight was delayed so I missed the 6 pm one… I guess we're stuck here until midnight then," she added, "I called the University and they said someone would come to pick us up in a couple of hours".

"Oh thank God! I had no idea how I was going to get there from here at this hour… I'm Finn by the way"

"Nice to meet you, Finn, I'm Rey"

"That's a beautiful name," he said, "are you English?"

"I am, you don't sound like an international student though, where are you from?"

"I was born here in Corellia actually, but I moved away to Australia when I was 10. I guess I never picked up the accent", he said smiling.

Rey smiled back at him. "Well, Finn from Corellia, you might want to make yourself comfortable since we still have to wait for a couple more hours"

"Good idea", he said, opening his luggage and pulling out a large pillow from one of his suitcases. "I packed this just in case something like this happened", he added.

"Smart. I couldn't think that far ahead". _Or afford the extra baggage fee_ , she thought to herself. "I just figured I would go to Bed, Bath & Beyond after I landed and pick up the basics. I guess that will have to wait until tomorrow." She settled into the chair and tried to form a ball with her jacket so she could rest her head on it.

"Here", Finn said handing her the pillow, "take mine. I don't mind staying awake, I slept like a baby on the plane."

Rey smiled at him gratefully and almost immediately fell asleep on it. If she had stayed awake a couple more seconds she would have seen Finn studying her face carefully, like she was a painting at a museum worthy of contemplation.

It wasn't until 11:30 that someone from the University arrived. She was wearing a bright orange t-shirt with the University logo and looked like this was her dream job.

"Well hello there!", she said enthusiastically to Finn, waking Rey up in the process. "I absolutely looooove picking up international students! You guys are always so much fun and so interesting! I wish I was more interesting, but still… Welcome to Corellia University!"

It was a two-hour drive from the airport to the campus, but since it was so late at night they were dropped off at a nearby inn for the night. Someone would come to pick them up in the morning and take them to their respective dorms.

Finn already had a room booked, Rey soon found out, since some students had been informed that late arrivals would not be able to pick up their dorm keys until the next day.

"Hey, you can stay with me!" Finn said, "there are two queen-sized beds in there, it can easily accommodate the both of us!"

If Rey hadn't spent almost all of her scholarship money on her plane ticket she would have probably refused Finn's offer, but she really couldn't afford to spend what little remained on a hotel room. "Are you sure?" Rey asked, "I mean… you don't have to, I can get my own…"

"Nonsense," Finn said. "Come, my room is on the second floor"

As they both settled into the room, Rey found herself growing more and more tired with each passing minute. She took off her shoes and didn't even bother changing into her pajamas before climbing into bed. It felt wonderful after being awake for so many hours.

She saw Finn trying to set the alarm clock on the bedside table, but after struggling with it for a couple of minutes he gave up and called the front desk and asked for a wake-up call in the morning.

Rey woke up the next morning feeling uncharacteristically calm. She showered quickly before Finn woke up, and then got dressed before going to the lobby to see if she could find something to eat. She had skipped dinner last night, and her stomach was growling so loudly other people could hear it too. Near the entrance, there was a large table set up with food and snacks, and there was a Corellia U banner behind it.

"Hi! My name is Kaydel, I'm a second year at the University. Are you one of the international students who came in last night?"

"Yes! I'm sorry, can I take one of those bagels? I'm starving"

"Of course! Feel free to take anything you want. We'll probably leave in about an hour, so if you want to get your bags and check out I can start loading them in the car."

"Oh! Sure, I'm just going to go wake up my roommate and bring him some coffee. I wouldn't want to leave him here all alone."

Rey grabbed an extra bagel and cup of coffee and headed back upstairs. Finn was already awake when she came in and handed him the food

"Here you go. I don't know how you like your coffee, so I put a little bit of cream and sugar in it in case you didn't like it black. There's more downstairs if you don't like it. The CU people are already there waiting for us."

"Thanks for the coffee! It's perfect. Yeah, I'll just pick up my things really quickly and we can head out."

"Hey, Finn?"

"Hum?"

"Thank you for letting me stay here last night. I really appreciate it"

"It was my pleasure, Rey. Do you know which dorm you're going to be living in?"

"I'm actually going to be living in one of those residential colleges, the Resistance."

"Hey, me too! I can't believe we're going to be living in the same place!", he said excitedly.

"That's great!", Rey said picking up her backpack and helping Finn move his bags out of the room.

She already knew someone. Someone who liked her and who was kind enough to let her stay with him so she wouldn't have to spend money. Things were off to a great start.

As they descended to the lobby, more students wearing logo shirts came to help them and they soon got into a large minivan. Rey realized that more international students must have arrived after them since there were 3 or 4 other cars waiting outside the inn.

They soon took off, and Rey couldn't remember ever being as happy or as excited as she was at that precise moment.


	2. Chapter 2

"Last name?"

"Niima"

"My system tells me your room is in the Resistance," said the woman at the check-in desk robotically. "Coruscant building, room 364. Your roommate has already checked in. Here are your room and mailbox keys. Don't lose either one of them. Oh, and here's your rape whistle. When you exit this building, you need to first make a left and walk down the..."

"I'm sorry, my what?" Rey asked confused.

"Your rape whistle. It's regulation", said the woman emotionlessly.

"Why would I...?"

But before she could finish the sentence, she was interrupted by another student who had just walked up to the desk.

"Are you Rey?", he asked.

"The one and only"

"I'm Poe, Poe Dameron. I'm part of the Resistance's student council. Here, let me help you with your bags", he said, flashing her a smile that made her knees weak. "I'm parked right outside the building. The Resistance isn't too far away, but I wouldn't want you to have to carry your bag all the way there." Again that smile. Rey couldn't help but blush.

"Thank you. My friend Finn is also going to be living in the Resistance, would you mind if we wait for him?"

"No problem, love. The more the merrier. Plus, the sooner you get settled in, the sooner you can come to join us for orientation."

Soon after, both Rey and Finn were sitting in the back seat of Poe's car and driving towards their new home. The campus was so green and clean and perfect. The neat brick buildings surrounded by the all this nature made Rey feel reassured.

Poe pulled up in front of a large building with the inscription "Coruscant" displayed above the main entrance. There were three other buildings next to it, but Rey couldn't make out their names.

"Welcome to the Resistance! You guys are going to have so much fun here! Okay, quick tour, the Resistance has four buildings, Coruscant is the main one, so we all just usually gather here after classes are over. Dorms are co-ed, and around 300 of us live here. I live in Crait, that's the one right next to Coruscant. Don't worry, you'll figure all of this out eventually. Do you know your room numbers?"

"Hoth 165", Finn said.

"Cool! That's right by the Dean's house. You see that little house over there? That's Alderaan, the dean and her husband live there. Very nice people, every now and then they throw parties and invite the residents over" Poe said brightly. "How about you, love?"

Rey felt her cheeks redden again. "Coruscant 364"

"Great, let me just show Finn which way to go and I'll help you carry your bags upstairs!"

As Finn and Poe started walking towards Hoth, Rey pulled out her card and tried to open the main entrance door. She struggled for a couple of seconds, but eventually pushed the door so hard it flew wide open and into someone's face.

"What the fucking fuck!" yelled the boy, who was now holding his hand over his nose. Rey could see some blood beginning to stain his shirt. He was tall and dark-haired, and everything about the way he looked and the way he was dressed gave Rey the impression that he was not someone you wanted to mess with. He just stared at her with a look of pure hatred in his eyes.

"I am so sorry! The door was stuck... I am sorry, oh my God you're bleeding, do you know where the bathroom is? I can go get some paper towels to help you get cleaned up..."

"Just get the hell out of my way!" he yelled angrily. "Stupid first years", he said to himself as he started walking towards Crait.

"I really am sorry!" Rey yelled after him. _Well, at I least I offered to help,_ she thought to herself.

A voice behind startled her. Poe was back and giving her an odd look. "I see you've met Solo, our resident asshole. What did you do to him anyway?"

"I think I might have broken his nose", Rey said shyly.

"Damn! I wish I had been here to see that. Long time coming. He's a fourth year, so you probably won't see him around much", he said trying to reassure her.

"Oh! I am actually a fourth year too. What is he majoring in?"

"Politics, how about you?"

Rey's heart sank. _Of course_ , he had to be in the same program as her. "Same. Fuck"

"Fuck indeed", Poe replied, giving her a quick pat on the back. "Come on, let's bring your stuff upstairs. Do you know if your roommate is here already?"

"Yes, her name is Rose Tico I think?"

"Ah, Rose! Lucky you! She's a wonderful human being. I hope she's there right now, I haven't seen her since the end of last year. You'll like her."

Rey smiled as came into the hallway leading to her room. Everything looked so welcoming and clean. And her roommate had a reputation of being nice!

 _This is going to be a good year_ , she said to herself. Yet she couldn't stop thinking about the boy, Solo, and the way he'd looked at her. A feeling of uneasiness washed through her body. _No_ , she said firmly, _this year will be perfect_.


	3. Chapter 3

Poe knocked on the door twice and Rey heard footsteps coming towards.

"Hey, Rose! Long time no see!", said Poe cheerfully, "I come bearing gifts".

"What?", Rose asked slightly confused, then locked eyes with Rey, "Oh, I... you are... who are you again?"

"I'm your new roommate, Rey", she said hesitantly.

"Right! Hi!", Rose replied, pulling her into a tight hug. "I'm sorry, you're not what I expected!", she exclaimed apologetically.

"What were you expecting?", asked Poe.

"A boy", said Rose, "but this is so much better!"

"I'm glad you're happy Rose, I'm just going to leave Rey's things by the door so you two girls can start doing your thing", Poe said. "Oh and Rose — be careful with this one, she already broke Solo's nose on our way here, you might want to watch yourself ", he added with a wink before closing the door behind him.

"You did what?!"

"It was an accident!", Rey said, "I was just trying to open the door, I didn't mean to! Oh God, I don't want everyone to think I'm some sort of bully or something, I hope no one else finds out".

"Well, it's too late for that, I'm sure Poe has told at least fifteen people already. But don't worry!", she added, seeing the look of sheer panic on Rey's face, "it's not as bad as you think. Solo has a bad reputation here... I don't think anyone really likes him anyway, you'll probably be hailed as a hero".

"Why doesn't anyone like him?, Rey asked, feeling sorry for the guy she had just involuntarily injured.

"Well, to begin with, he wasn't really accepted by the Resistance's admissions committee... you probably know, student self-governance, we get to decide who lives here and who doesn't. Anyway, so he wasn't accepted because his application truly reflected his personality, but then his parents intervened and he was allowed to stay."

"His parents intervened? Why? How?"

"Right, you're new here, I forgot. The Resistance's dean, Leia Organa, is his mom. She's a really nice person, but boy must she hate us to force us to live with his moody son."

"That bad, huh?", Rey asked curiously, "what did he do?"

"I wouldn't say it was just one thing... more like a series of things during our first year. He burned down Crait. He said it was an accident, but no one really believed him. Then there was the Skywalker incident, I'll tell you about it later. I guess it's mostly that and the fact that he enjoys yelling at people for no apparent reason."

 _Well, hopefully we won't be taking many classes together_ , Rey thought to herself.

"Enough of that, let me just help you get settled in really quick so we can go to the patio for the welcome back orientation picnic. There's free food and I heard they ordered from Michael's Sandwich Emporium, so it's good food too!", Rose said cheerfully.

"Oh good, I'm starving!", Rey said. "Do you know if there's a store nearby where I can pick up some bed sheets and a pillow?"

"Yes, but it's crazy hot outside, you should probably wait until it cools down a bit, it's a long walk. I have an extra set, just wash them when you get your own", she said, tossing her a pillow and pulling out a set of sheets from her closet.

"Thank you so much!" said Rey gratefully.

"Oh, one thing, since we're going to be living together, I snore". Rey laughed at this. "And I'm not much of a party girl, but if you want to bring a boy over just... let me know in advance. I've walked into people doing it and saw things I could not unsee".

"Don't worry about it, I'm only here to make friends ", said Rey.

"Good", Rose said, "well, what are we waiting for? Let's go get some free food".

"Yes! God, yes!", Rey exclaimed. Rose seemed very nice, and Rey couldn't wait to get to know her better. After they ate, of course.

* * *

"What the hell happened to you, kid? Han asked as he approached his son, pointing at his face. He had paid the nurse a visit and she had patched him up as best she could. He was relieved to find out his nose wasn't broken, but it still hurt like hell.

"A first year student slammed a door in my face" he answered darkly.

"What did you do to him to deserve that?, Han asked chuckling.

"Nothing! Why does everyone always assume I threw the first punch? And it was a she, not a he" Ben replied angrily.

"Ever so lucky with the ladies. You know I expect to have grandkids one day, you might want to start working on your charm".

"As usual, thanks for your priceless advice".

They were both sitting on a ledge in the patio, watching the students slowly gather around the food.

"So which one was it?"

Ben looked up, just in time to see Rey exiting the building with what's her name? Rose?

"That one, the one who's piling food on her plate like she hasn't eaten in ages" Ben said, pointing at Rey.

"She's a looker", Han said, "I can picture your kids already".

At that Ben scoffed, got up suddenly and left without another word.

Ben wasn't really interested in dating anyone. Sure, his dad was right, she was quite pretty, but she would never go for a guy like him. And he was going to law school next year. He wasn't going to let a girl distract him from his goals. He threw his disposable plate into a nearby trash bin and went back to his room.


	4. Chapter 4

Rey was not one to blush often. She was also not one to develop crushes. But every time Poe smiled at her, or put his hand on her shoulder, Rey swooned. It both disgusted and enchanted her, the way she felt around him.

"You okay, love?" Poe asked, "you seem distracted."

"Me? No!" she replied, perhaps too quickly, "It's just the heat, it's a million degrees out here."

He looked like he was about to say something, but then his attention moved past her as he said, "Finn! My man!"

Finn grinned. He and Rey exchanged a glance that clearly showed how happy they both felt to be surrounded by this welcoming group of people.

"Have you met Rose yet?" Poe asked pointing at her. "She's Rey's roommate."

"Hi there", Finn said with a smile.

Rose was completely speechless. She stared at Finn, and it wasn't until Poe nudged her that she reacted.

"Hi", she said quickly, lowering her gaze. "Rey, do you know where the bathrooms are? Of course not, come, I'll show you" she said, grabbing Rey by the arm and dragging her as far away from the group as possible. It wasn't until they were inside the building that Rose turned back and asked "who is that? How do you know him? Do you know if he's seeing someone?"

"He's an international student like me, we just met yesterday, so I wouldn't know if he's involved with someone."

"Do you like him? As in, do you like him like him?"

"Not that way", Rey said, barely containing the smile that was spreading through her face. Rose was adorable.

"Oh good. I'm calling dibs on him then" she said smirking.

"Be my guest. Do you know what Poe's deal is?" Rey tried to sound casual, but she struggled to hide her nervousness when she uttered his name.

"Ooooooh, so it is mutual, " Rose said happily. "He isn't taken, and I've seen the way he looks at you. I know you said you weren't looking for that right now, but you should know" Rose said, lowering her voice, "he has a reputation of being a very generous lover."

"Rose!" Rey said indignantly "I was only asking out of curiosity, nothing more!"

"Mhm" Rose said cheekily "well, if you do decide you're open to that kind of relationship, I will be very supportive of you two."

Rey rolled her eyes, feeling incredibly comfortable around this girl she'd just met. "C'mon, let's go back outside before the guys start wondering if something happened to us."

Back in the patio, things were loud and chaotic. Most of the students were engaged in conversation and loud music was playing.

Someone tapped on a microphone and a tall, middle-aged woman came to view.

"Hello everybody! To our new students, welcome! And to our old ones, welcome back! It's great to see you again.

For those who don't know me yet, my name is Leia Organa and I am the dean of the Resistance."

"Here here!" Poe yelled, and a lot of the students started clapping.

"Thank you, Poe. As I was saying, I'm the one who's in charge of you all, and it is my pleasure to welcome you home" Leia continued, "I'll try to keep things brief, since you've been fed and there are no longer any incentives to keep you here: I am here for you, to listen to your academic concerns, as well as your personal ones. So come to see me if you need help. Oh, and don't smoke pot in the garden, it stinks up our kitchen."

Students laughed and cheered as Leia returned the microphone to its rightful place.

"This place is awesome!" Finn exclaimed. "I am so glad we get to live here for a year," he said to Rey.

Rose introduced her to other Coruscant residents while they chatted away. It wasn't until late in the evening that Poe suggested they move the party elsewhere.

"I have some tequila in my room and there's a party at one of the frat houses at 11, are you in?"

"Heck yes!" Rose said.

Rey however, was starting to feel tired, she still needed to catch up on some sleep.

"I don't know guys," she said, stifling a yawn, "I'm pretty burned out because of all the traveling."

"Okay, so maybe we don't go to the frat party, but there's no reason why we couldn't have fun in my room!"

"I guess you're right " Rey acquiesced, "but you can't make fun of me if I fall asleep."

* * *

Back in Poe's room, everyone had had a little too much drink. Poe was singing loudly (and poorly), and Rose looked like she was about to make her feelings for Finn known. She was holding his hand while he drunkenly recounted every detail of his life in Australia, and he didn't seem to mind. Every now and then he would look over to Rey before turning back to Rose.

Rey was not doing too well herself. She was starting to slur her words and her balance was nonexistent.

A knock on the door startled them all.

Since Rey was closest to the entrance she yelled "Oy! Coming!", got up and opened the door violently.

On the other side stood none other than Ben Solo. And he looked pissed as hell.

"Would you mind keeping it down?! Some of us are trying to get some work done here!" He yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Work? Classes haven't even started yet!" Poe yelled back "Come in, join the fun Solo, there will be plenty of time for work later."

"Absolutely not," he said curtly. He turned around quickly, which took Rey by surprise, and she lost her balance and her hands landed on Ben's firm chest. She steadied herself before looking up, a mix of shame and something she couldn't quite name making her feel uneasy.

"So-sorry", she mumbled, "I just losssd my balansh".

"I could tell", he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Her hands were still on his body. It felt warm and soft under her palms, and Rey had to fight back the urge to run her hands over his pecs.

"Hows ya nossss?" Rey asked, pointing at Ben's nose and nearly touching it.

"Not broken."

"I'm Rey, by the way," she said giggling "see Finn? I'm not that drunk, I can still rhyme!"

"Ben, sit down with us and have a drink" Poe commanded.

"Who's Ben?" Rey asked, clearly too drunk to make the connection.

"I should go," Ben said, "keep it down, will you? And Poe, if I hear you singing again I will come back and beat you up."

"Whatever you say So-Low" Poe replied grinning, as he helped Rey sit on the bed so that she wouldn't fall.

When Ben shut the door behind him they all burst out laughing. They talked and drank for a couple of hours until they all passed out in Poe's room.

* * *

Ben closed the door to Poe's room and heard them laughing at him on the other side. _Idiots_ , he thought.

But he had needed to get out of there. Something inside of him woke up when Rey touched him. It wasn't until he was back in his room that he realized how aroused he was.

 _Damn it, Solo_ , he said to himself. This girl was definitely going to be a distraction.

* * *

A/N: This note is long overdue. Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far. I write this during my commute to work, so I'll probably be posting daily during weekdays. I'm sorry the chapters aren't longer! I try to finish them before I get to the office, so 1000 words is the most I can do in half an hour. But I will post frequently, I hope that makes up for it!


	5. Chapter 5

Rey wasn't sure how it had happened. And she also wasn't sure she truly wanted it.

On her fourth day at Corellia, most of the Resistance had gone to a nearby bar the night before classes started. They drank abundantly and everyone had a good time.

Around 1 am Rey had decided to call it a night, and she, Rose, Poe, and Finn were walking back to their dorm together. At some point between the bar and Coruscant, they had lost Finn and Rose. Rey suspected she had made up an excuse to stay behind... and that Finn had gladly obliged. After their first night together in Poe's room it seemed that Finn had realized he was also attracted to Rose.

Good for them, thought Rey smiling fondly. But now, now she was walking late at night in the company of only Poe. And he looked very nervous.

"Look, Rey," he said, stopping suddenly in front of the Coruscant patio, "there's something in need to tell you."

Rey's heart came to a full stop. She still hadn't fully analyzed how she felt about Poe, and she was decidedly not ready to have this conversation. Her face must have reflected her thoughts, because Poe locked eyes with hers and reached out with his hands.

"Rose told me you weren't really interested in seeing someone this year, that you were only interested in making new friends," he continued.

 _Shit_. She was definitely not ready for this.

"And I know we haven't known each other long, but over the last couple of days I've realized I like you," he said, his voice impassive.

Poe paused for a couple of seconds and studied Rey's face. She felt like was glued to her spot, her limbs unresponsive, and her heart beating furiously.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked slowly.

"I..." Rey began.

But Poe mistook her hesitation for shyness, and soon enough he closed the space between them and his lips were on hers.

It wasn't a bad kiss. He was gentle yet passionate, she enjoyed the way his hands stroked the back of her neck, and she moaned softly. That was all the encouragement he needed to deepen the kiss and he pulled her body flush against his.

She heard a noise in the distance and pulled away, looking around her surroundings and trying to identify the source of the commotion.

"It's probably another resident who just came back from the bar," Poe said, stroking her cheeks gently. "I wouldn't worry about safety here, Corellia is about the safest campus in the country," he added reassuringly.

Rey couldn't really believe what had just happened. Her head was spinning, partly because of his affections, but mostly because her heavy drinking was starting to catch up with her.

"I'll walk you to your room", Poe said gently, placing his hand on the small of her back.

He kissed her forehead before bidding her goodnight and retreating back to his room.

Rey sat on her bed, pressing her hand against her lips, and replaying in her head the events of the last couple of minutes. There was no denying she enjoyed the kiss, but somehow being with him didn't feel right.

She set her alarm on her phone for 7, since she had her first class at 8, climbed under the covers and almost immediately fell asleep.

So now here she was, walking towards her first class, with Poe by her side. He was an engineering major, so his classes were on the opposite side of the campus, but he had insisted on walking her to her building. He grabbed her hand, gave her a peck on the lips, and they both headed towards the Political Science building.

As they approached room 568, Rey spotted Ben leaning against the wall, wearing a scowl on his face.

 _God, please don't let him be in the same class as me, please_ , Rey thought desperately.

"Solo! Are you also taking te Constitutional Law seminar this semester?" Poe asked gleefully.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he answered darkly, no hint of humor in his voice.

"Great! You can take of my care of my girl while she's in class then," Poe said and winked at Ben.

If looks could kill, Poe would have been pulverized on the spot. His eyes were shooting daggers at him and Rey.

Without even glancing at her or saying goodbye to Poe, he made his way into the classroom, slamming the door behind him.

"I guess this is me," Rey said to Poe.

"Yes," he replied, moving over to kiss her softly, "I'll miss you."

Rey let go of his hand and entered the classroom, feeling a bit smothered by Poe's affections.

The room was relatively small, since it was a seminar, not a lecture, and there was a long rectangular table in the middle of it. Rey took a seat near the corner, trying to stay away from the view and from Ben, who was sitting on the other side of the room, near the professor's desk, with whom he was already engaged in conversation.

"Ben Solo, good to see you again!" professor Ackbar said. "The prodigal student returns."

"Yes, I will be taking the LSAT in a couple of months and thought it would be best to re immerse myself in the world of constitutional law," he offered.

"Smart decision," the professor replied chuckling, "it's past 8 already, let's get started."

Ben returned to his seat and pulled out his computer and a stack of notes. Rey paled. Was she supposed to do some readings before the first class? She looked up at Ben, but he didn't look her way.

"Welcome all to Constitutional Law 480! I'm glad you have decided to take this class, it's going to be quite a ride. Here's the agenda for today's session and the syllabus for the course, and we'll begin normal classes next week." he said, passing around some papers.

"A couple of announcements first. I know a lot of you are pre-law and will be taking the LSAT in November. Please do not hesitate to come to my office hours so I can attempt to dissuade you from attending law school." The students laughed at this.

"Secondly and most importantly, doing the readings each week will be your most valuable asset for your research projects, so I recommend you follow the syllabus. Which brings to the topic of graded assignments. You will have one 40-page collaboration research paper due at the end of the semester, and one final examination in December.

So let's begin with the research paper. Look at the person sitting in front of you. They will be your research partners for this class."

Rey realized no one was sitting across from her. She looked around and saw that everyone else had a partner, everyone except...

 _No_.

"Solo, it seems like your research partner is sitting in the other side of the room. What's your name?" the professor asked.

"Rey Niima," she replied in a small voice.

This was bad. Very, very bad.


	6. Chapter 6

Ben Solo wasn't a party person. In fact, he couldn't recall ever going to a large party in college, let alone in high school. Unlike his classmates, _he_ had career goals. And self-respect. He wasn't eager to denigrate himself by getting drunk in public and doing regrettable things. Besides, it's not like he would ever find _his crowd_ at one of those parties.

So when a couple of fourth years walked past his room yelling "Party at Mos Eisley tonight!" he didn't even move. He just turned the page of his Civil Rights and Liberties in the Warren Court book and kept taking notes.

Maybe _she_ would be there. _No_. He shouldn't think about her. He didn't have _time_ to think about her.

But he couldn't help himself. He could still feel the warmth of her small, soft hands on his chest. He couldn't stop trying to remember what she smelled like, the color of her eyes, or the freckles on the cheeks. He wanted her. Badly.

 _But that's not going to happen_ , he said to himself. He got up and went to the bathroom down the hall, where he splashed his face with abundant water, before returning to his desk.

After several hours of uninterrupted reading in the blissfully silent dorm, he made his way to the communal kitchen to heat up a frozen meal. He was starving, and even though his frozen Pad Thai wasn't the most appetizing thing, it was a quick fix to the grumbling in his stomach.

The communal kitchen was on the Southwest corner of Crait, the main window offering a view of the Coruscant patio. He heated his meal, grabbed some cutlery, and placed his food on the table next to window.

He was about to take his first bite when he spotted two dark figures talking on the patio. His insides boiled when he realized it was Poe and Rey. And then he saw Poe lean in and catch her lips with his and he felt anger like he'd never felt before.

She was _his_.

 _No, she isn't, you idiot, she wants Poe, don't you_ _see?_ , said a voice inside his head. _Nobody ever wants you_.

Ben grabbed his plate and threw it against a nearby wall with as much force as he could muster. He left the kitchen quickly and returned to his room, where he started to punch a pillow.

 _Calm the fuck down, Solo_.

It took him a couple of minutes to cool down, but when he did he was left with a feeling of emptiness and sadness.

He turned the lights off and tried to fall asleep. After laying awake in his bed for what he felt were hours, he finally passed out.

* * *

 _I don't know why it bothered me so much_ , he said to himself the following morning, _they can both whatever the fuck they want._

This feeling didn't last long though, because as he entered the Coruscant lobby he saw Poe standing behind Rey, his hands on her waist, as she grabbed a bagel from the breakfast table. She looked a bit uncomfortable but didn't say anything.

He quickly grabbed a cup of coffee and walked to his car. The Political Science building was within walking distance, but he figured he'd have to drive to the boxing club after classes were over and punch away his anger.

He was standing outside the classroom when he saw them approaching.

She'd better _not_ be in his class.

He saw Poe waving at him. He did not feel like talking, especially not to him. He just planned to ignore them until they passed, but then he heard Poe saying Rey was going to be in his class. _Why is the universe testing me like this_ , he thought.

But then he said it. He had the nerve to say it in front of him. That she was _his girl_. Something inside of Ben snapped and he walked into the classroom angrily, leaving them standing alone in the corridor confused.

Fortunately for him, he really liked this class. He had taken the introductory course two years prior with the same professor and earned an A+. He would just put in as many hours as it took to earn top marks again so he could ask for a recommendation letter for his law school application at the end of the semester.

He was vaguely listening to what Ackbar was saying until he mentioned the graded assignments. He hated working with other people, he found it was a supreme waste of time.

"Solo", he heard Ackbar address him, "it seems your partner is on the other side of the room."

Ben had been distracted, so it took him a couple of seconds to process his words. On the other side of the room... _no...no, no, NO!_

He couldn't work with her. _Quick, make up an excuse_ , he said to himself. _She hasn't taken the introductory course. No, neither have others in the seminar. She's going to distract me from my studies, with her pouty lips and gorgeous eyes. And her idiot boyfriend. Goddammit Solo, focus, FOCUS!_

"Professor, Rey is an international student and she's probably unfamiliar with the intricacies of the United States's Supreme Court. Perhaps she would be better off at the introductory-level course?"

 _Fuck_. He realized what he'd said after the words had come out of his mouth. He looked up at Rey and he could see tears starting to form in her eyes. _Shit_.

"Mr. Solo, are you implying Miss Niima isn't qualified enough to take my class? Are you questioning my decision to take her on as a student?"

"No, sir, that's not why I meant..." he started.

"Miss Niima will get a chance to prove herself in this class, just like everyone else. As for you, Mr. Solo, I suggest you reconsider your attitude towards your fellow students. Respect is one of the core foundations in law, and a necessary quality in any lawyer. Class dismissed."

* * *

"Rey, wait, wait!" Ben cried after her as they exited the classroom.

"What do you want?" she asked, glaring at him. "I have nothing to say to you."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be that rough..."

"Oh my God, listen to yourself, you entitled little dick!" she barked at him.

He stopped in his paces. Few people had ever confronted him directly, and only a handful had dared to insult him to his face. And more confusing still, he regretted his words, and felt the need to apologize to her.

"I'm sorry I don't live up to your standards! And I wish I didn't have to work with you, but we're both stuck in this unpleasant arrangement, so get your shit together!"

At that Rey took off. He just stood there for a couple of seconds before realizing he had another class to go. Same building, 5th floor.

He was about to start climbing up the stairs when noticed Rey coming out of the girls bathroom, a paper towel in her hand she was using to dry her tears. She stopped to check something on her phone and then marched towards the staircase. Ben followed suit, but she hadn't seemed to notice. It wasn't until they'd both reached the 5th floor that she turned around and spotted him.

"Are you following me now?!" she yelled at him.

"No, I'm just going to my next class..."

They both stared at each other. "Let me guess," Rey said, "you are also taking Advertising and Electoral Politics."

He nodded quietly. She let out a frustrated noise, threw her bag on her shoulder violently and stormed off towards the classroom.

 _She hates me_ , he thought sadly. Never before in his life had he wished he had a time machine as much as he did now.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey wasn't a naturally hateful person. But when he heard Ben say she wasn't prepared enough for the stupid seminar she wanted to jump on the table and kick him in the face. She hadn't realized she had tears in her eyes until she looked at Ben. His usual scowl was gone, it was instead replaced by a look she couldn't quite pin, like he was pleading for her forgiveness for what he had said.

What did she do to him to deserve this? It was safe to say she had never met anyone like Ben before. He was both publicly humiliating her and apologizing for his words at the same.

But she was in no mood to forgive him. Not today. Him? _Not ever_ , she thought darkly.

She heard the professor announce that the class was over and she had rushed out of the room as fast as she could. She heard him calling after her and she stopped dead in her tracks. She wanted to cry as she was yelling at him, to break down in the hopes someone else would take pity on her and take her side. Someone to join her in her anger. For the first time since she had met him, she wished Poe was there with her.

After she was done insulting him, she marched to the bathroom to silently let the tears stream down her face. She was stronger than this. She quickly grabbed a paper towel and started walking towards her second class.

She felt his presence behind her as she climbed the stairs. _Oh God_ , she thought, _why can't he just let me be?_

So they were going to be in the same room a lot this semester. She took a deep breath. She was not going to let _him_ ruin her year abroad.

Thankfully this class turned out to be much more uneventful than their previous one. The classroom was larger this time, Rey estimated there were about 100 people taking the course.

She sat on the third row near the middle, and when she turned around she saw he had chosen to seat near the exit, towards the back of the room.

 _Good_ , she thought, _stay away from me_. If there had been any doubt in her mind about Ben Solo's horrible reputation it had dissipated over the course of the last hour.

The class turned out to be very enjoyable. Professor Holdo was passionate about the subject, and she had delivered an impassioned speech at the beginning of the class about the power of advertising and its historical influence over the American people.

Oh, yes, Rey was in her element now.

After the class ended she stayed behind to talk to the professor. She spotted Ben lingering around the exit, looking at her expectantly.

 _If he thinks I'm going to go to him after what he said, he is dead wrong,_ Rey thought to herself.

After introducing herself to the professor and explaining she was an exchange student, the pair spent almost an hour comparing the British and American electoral systems and how they influenced each country's advertising style. At the end of their discussion, Professor Holdo gave Rey a pat on the back and told her she was glad to have her in the her class this semester.

 _Take that, Solo_.

* * *

Since she hadn't purchased her books for the two classes, she made her way to the University bookstore, where she ran into Rose.

"Reyyyyy," she said excitedly, "how was your first class at Corellia?"

"How about I tell you about my second one instead?" she replied.

"Oh, no, what happened?"

"I'll tell you what happened," Rey replied, getting worked up already as she recalled the scene and started recounting it to Rose.

"I really don't understand what his deal is," Rose said after she finished talking.

"Beats me," Rey replied sourly.

"Did he really apologize to you afterwards?"

Rey nodded.

"That's new," Rose said furrowing her brows, "he usually doesn't give two fucks about the people he insults."

"I guess I'm special then. I really wish he'd just ignore me."

"Don't dwell on it, just let him do whatever he wants and stay away."

"We have a research paper to work on together! We will have to be in the same room and... and... oh my God, that condescending asshole is going to ruin that class for me," Rey said sadly.

"Don't let him get to you, Rey," Rose said softly, "come, let's go grab lunch with the other guys, that should cheer you up!"

It was at that precise moment that Rey realized she still hadn't told Rose about the Poe situation.

"So... I think Poe and I are dating now."

"Wait, what?! How? When? Did you sleep with him? Tell me _everything_!"

"There isn't really much to tell..."

"Spill the beans!"

"I really don't know how it happened, but last night he kissed me after you and Finn ditched us, and then this morning he walked me to class and told Ben I was his _girl_ ," Rey said.

"Wait, he said that _in front_ o _f Solo_?!"

"Yeah, so?" Rey asked.

Rose just gave her a funny look, grabbed her by the arm and both girls started walking towards the cafeteria.

* * *

A/N: Aki8210 and ToughSpirit thank you so much! I'm glad you're enjoying this!


	8. Chapter 8

It took Rey less than a week of dating Poe to realize she wasn't into him. Sure, he was attractive, charming, and quick-witted, but something was missing. Plus, she quickly found out, she didn't have time to have a boyfriend, what with her hectic schedule. On top of that, she had found a part-time job at one of the libraries, so she was going to have to start prioritizing her social activities.

"You have to tell him," Rose told her over lunch.

"I know, I know," Rey replied, "it's just… he's been so nice to me. I don't want to hurt him."

"The longer you wait, the worse it'll be for him."

Rey looked up and saw Finn and Poe approaching their table.

"Hello girls, mind if we join you?" Finn asked. Rey and Rose nodded, so he placed his food tray on the table and pulled up a chair next to Rose.

"Hey babe," Poe told Rey, placing a soft kiss on her cheek, making her blush. _Oh God_ , Rey thought to herself, feeling both ashamed and embarrassed. "How were your classes this morning?

"Unremarkable. I have two essays due next week and I need to finish some readings for my Law seminar tomorrow morning."

"Sounds boring. How's that going by the way? Has Solo calmed down?" Finn asked.

"Hard to tell. He was a no-show last week. I didn't see him in the Media lecture either," Rey replied.

"Maybe he's sick," Rose said.

"Maybe he dropped out," Rey countered darkly.

"Unlikely," Poe said, "for as long as I've known him he's had his eyes set on going to law school. He tried to take the seminar his second year but was asked to change courses because he hadn't taken the pre-requisite classes."

"We're getting our topics tomorrow," Rey said, "I don't know what Ackbar has in store for us, but it's probably going to be demanding. Like having to work with that asshole wasn't challenging enough already."

"Relax. If things get out of hand you can just ask the professor to let you work on the assignment on your own," Rose said. "Argh, shit, it's 2 p.m. already. Gotta head out to my next class."

"I'll walk you out," Finn said picking up his bags. "I need to go back to the Resistance to pick up some things."

"See you guys later," Rose said, "And Rey— think about what I said."

"If you ask me, there's something going on between those two," Poe said as they watched Finn and Rose leave the cafeteria.

Rey remained silent. Was this the time to tell Poe she wanted to break up? Rose seemed to think so.

"I'm just saying, if they started to go out I wouldn't object to going on a double date with them," Poe said winking.

 _Deep breaths_ , Rey told herself burying her face in her hands. Why was this so hard? They barely knew each other. She had never truly agreed to be his girlfriend, he had made that decision for her. _Just tell him you don't have time for him_ , she thought. _No_ , said another voice in her head, _he'll find a way to see you if you say that_. Would it be too harsh to tell him she didn't like him?

She was snapped out of her inner dialogue when she heard Poe yell at someone passing by.

"Oy! Solo!"

When Rey lifted her head she was confronted with the tall and imposing figure of Ben Solo. This time, however, his eyes were not on her.

"Can I help you?" he asked Poe angrily.

"Actually, yes. You need to back off Rey. I don't know what your deal is, but she's done nothing wrong," Poe said standing up to face him.

It took Rey a couple of seconds to process Poe's words. When she finally realized what he was doing she felt a surge of anger coursing through her body.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" she asked Poe incredulously.

"Just telling him to lay off you, that's all love," Poe said raising his arms defensively.

"I don't need you to stand up for me, I'm perfectly capable of defending myself!"

"I know you are, love, I just wanted to—"

"Stop calling me love!" Rey yelled.

Rey saw her opening. This was it, now was her time to rip off the band-aid. "I can't— I can't do this anymore. I'm sorry, Poe."

She grabbed her books and bags and moved past Solo and towards the exit. She didn't look back, but if she had, she would've seen Poe had tried to follow her only to be stopped by Ben's hand on his shoulder.

* * *

"Welcome to the underworld"

"Excuse me?" Rey asked confused.

"That's what we call the stacks on the lower floors. Rarely anyone ever comes down here, and when they do, they don't look very… alive," the blond-haired boy said chuckling.

Rey smiled. The lower levels of the Mustafar library didn't exactly feel welcoming, but they were quiet enough. She was not displeased with her assignment since she would have plenty of time to read while on her shift. All she had to do was return the books to their respective shelves if anyone borrowed them, and go into the special collections room if someone requested to review an older item.

"Your shift is from 7 to midnight. Please don't leave until Charlie arrives to take your place. Once again, my name is Matt, and don't hesitate to call this number if you need any help."

"Will do," Rey replied, walking over to the reception desk and jumping behind the counter. There was plenty of room to put her books and laptop and even a small printer. _Yes, this will do_ , Rey thought.

Rey pulled out her Constitutional Law book and the course syllabus from her backpack. She had to read over 400 pages of case law before her next class.

 _Better get to it then_.

* * *

Just like Matt had predicted, no one came down to her floor during her shift. By the time the clock struck 11, she had gone through almost 200 pages of her readings. _I'll finish the rest at the Resistance_.

She looked at her cell phone and saw a text from a number she did not recognize.

 _Hey Rey, this is Matt. Charlie is ill and can't cover his shift tonight. Is there any chance you can stay until closing time?_

Mustafar closed at 3 am. Yeah, she could do that.

 _Hey Matt, sure thing._

 _Thanks! You're a lifesaver._

She dug into her bag and took out her book again, this time choosing to sit on the floor under the desk. At least she was definitely finishing her readings tonight.

Rey heard someone clearing their throat. She lifted her head from her book and immediately realized she must have fallen asleep at some point while she was reading. She climbed up from under the desk, yawning and stretching her arms. Ben Solo was leaning on the counter and looked slightly taken aback when he saw her emerge.

"I need a book from Special Collections," he declared.

"I can't help you," Rey replied, rubbing her eyes.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because it closed at 11. You'll have to wait to until the morning."

"Do you have the keys to the room?" Ben asked emotionlessly.

"Yes. But like I said, it's closed for the day."

"I need to access a book tonight. For tomorrow's class," he added. "I know where it is. If you unlock the door I can go get it. It'll only take 10 minutes."

"No. It's closed," Rey said firmly. She locked eyes with Ben and could tell from his expression that he understood she was not messing around.

"Fine," he said curtly.

He turned around and was about to leave but stopped in his paces.

"Did you finish the readings for tomorrow?" he inquired.

"It's none of your business," Rey answered. Solo lifted his eyebrow at her.

"Almost, I have 40 pages left," she relented.

"Ackbar likes quizzing his students, particularly after long reading assignments. He wants to make sure the people taking his class are actually putting in enough hours," Ben told her. "He particularly likes discussing _Furman v. Georgia,"_ he added, "If I were you I would focus on the opinions in death penalty cases."

Without further comment, he went to sit by the window. Rey saw him put on headphones and start taking notes. Did Ben Solo just try to help her with a class?

* * *

At 3 a.m. sharp, Solo got up and packed his books. Rey followed suit, and they both rode the elevator in complete silence. Before exiting the library, she swiped her card by the entrance to clock out of her shift and put the key in the mailbox as Matt had instructed.

Ben was holding the door for her. He followed her down the steps, and Rey started walking towards the bus stop.

"What are you doing?" Ben asked.

"I'm taking the bus back to the Resistance," Rey replied.

"Buses stop running at midnight," he said.

 _Shit_. It was a long walk back to the Resistance, and the campus was eerily calm and dark.

"Come with me," Ben said and started to walk towards the parking lot across the street.

Rey stood frozen in her tracks. She wasn't afraid of Solo, but she certainly did not trust him enough to get into a car with him.

He looked back and saw she hadn't moved. As if he had read her thoughts, he asked, "Would you rather walk back?"

"No"

He opened the door to his black BMW for her, then walked to the other side of the car and got in.

 _Fuck it, what's the worst that could happen?_ Rey thought to herself as she climbed into Ben's car.

* * *

A/N: Sorry about the long wait! I've been swamped with work lately. I'll try to upload another chapter by tomorrow. Thanks for the encouraging reviews! X


	9. Chapter 9

Ben's car was immaculately clean and smelled like it was brand new. Much like the exterior, the seats were black and sleek. Rey got into the passengers seat and placed her bag on her lap, nervously waiting for Ben to get in.

"You can put that in the back if you want," he said, pointing at her bag.

"It's fine, I don't mind," she said quickly. She wanted to get out of the car the second they arrived at the Resistance.

"Suit yourself," Ben replied.

As he started the engine, his radio started playing heavy metal music very loudly. Rey eyed him briefly and wondered how he would react if she turned down the volume, but before she could finish that thought he had turned it off completely.

They rode in complete silence, the only sound being the soft hum of the engine. Rey found herself stealing glances at him, as if trying to read his mind, curious to see what was going on inside of his head. Ben's eyes, however, never left the road.

He pulled up in front of Coruscant, only to see Poe sitting on the patio ledge.

 _No. No, no, no, why is he here? Dammit._

Rey sank into her seat, trying to hide out of view. Ben stared at her, but then his attention was caught by Poe. Ben wordlessly switched off the engine and rested his head on the seat.

Rey was mortified. She didn't want to spend anymore time around Ben, but at that moment the alternative seemed much worse. For the second time that night, she wondered what he was thinking.

 _He_ _must_ _think_ _I'm_ _pathetic_ , she thought, _a_ _fucking_ _coward_.

Someone knocked on the window and both Rey and Ben jerked violently out of surprise.

Han Solo was waving at them on the other side of the glass. Ben reluctantly lowered the window.

"Hey kid," he said grinning. "Rey," he said winking at her mischievously.

Rey turned a deep shade of red. How had he found out her name? Had Ben told him?

"Ben just gave me a ride back from the library," Rey said quickly, before Han jumped to his own conclusions.

"I see," he said, "maybe you do take after me after all."

"Unlikely," Ben said, glaring at his father.

"So what are you waiting for? You can kiss her goodnight inside the building, you know, I doubt at this hour anyone will complain."

At that both Ben and Rey shook their heads and gasped. She felt her heartbeat quicken, and turned to look at Ben, who was shooting daggers at his father.

"I... no... we're not..." Rey began.

"Don't be ridiculous, father," Ben said sharply.

Rey's heart dropped. Ridiculous... he really did think lowly of her. _Fuck you, Ben Solo._

"We're just waiting for Dameron to leave," he added.

"I see. Well, I'll give you a hand, but you owe me one," Han said before storming off to greet Poe and dragging him towards Crait.

When they were out of sight, Rey opened the door and finally got out of the car. She pulled her keys out of her bag and started walking towards the entrance of the dorm. She heard Ben get out of the car her behind her.

She was startled when she felt his hand on her shoulder when she reached the door.

"Listen..." he said, not making eye contact, "I was hoping we could try to be friends, since we'll have to spend so much time working together this semester."

Rey glared at him. What the _hell_ is his deal? The rude bastard now wants to be her friend?

"We could never be friends," she told him bluntly, looking at him in the eye. "That would be... _ridiculous._ "

She turned around and shut the door in his face. She made her way upstairs without looking back, fighting the tears that had started forming in her eyes. _Why does he have that effect on me?_ She wondered miserably.

Rose wasn't in the room when she went in, much to Rey's relief. She noticed the bedroom window was open, so she moved to close it.

She spotted Ben still in the patio, sitting on one of the large chairs, his face buried in his hands.

She shut the window without looking again, and literally jumped into bed.

* * *

When she woke up the next morning, her neck was sore from the position she'd fallen asleep in when she dozed off in the library.

Every cell in her body was begging her to stay in bed. To skip her 8 a.m. To avoid seeing _him_.

 _God, why, of all people, was I assigned to work him?_

She packed her bag and grabbed a bagel on her way out. As she glanced around the room quickly she noticed Poe was staring at her. She stuffed the bagel in her mouth and rushed out to catch the bus. When she got on, she realized she was running a couple of minutes late to class.

Everyone had taken their seats by the time she opened the classroom door, but thankfully Ackbar wasn't there yet.

Ben was sitting (as per usual) by the corner, and she noticed that the only vacant seat in the room was the one next to him. _This day keeps getting better and better_.

She took a seat without looking at him. He didn't attempt to make conversation, he simply continued to read the book he had laid on the table.

Ackbar came in a couple of minutes later, apologizing for the delay. He was wearing a brightly colored bow tie that didn't match his shirt and jacket. Rey giggled inwardly.

"I'm afraid today's lesson will be very short, since I need to leave for a conference in a couple of minutes and won't be back until Friday," he announced. "So, let's take care of the most important item on our agenda, the topics for your collaborative papers."

"Please sit in pairs. In this bowl," he said gesturing at a glass fish bowl full of pink colored pieces of paper, "are your topics. Please only take one paper per team."

He passed the bowl to Ben, who was sitting closest to Ackbar. He in turn handed it over to Rey without making eye contact.

Rey rolled her eyes, pulled out of piece of paper, and passed the bowl to the person sitting next to her.

She opened it slowly. Inside she just read " _Roe_ _v_. _Wade_ : Good or Bad Constitutional Law? Discuss."

 _Great_. Abortion. Such a light topic to discuss with someone you profoundly dislike. She wondered what Ben's stance on the matter was and hoped they were at least on the same page. If not, their paper would be chaotic, full of conflicting statements and unclear arguments. _Fuck_.

She passed the paper to Ben, who grunted as he saw what was written inside.

"Are you all done? Excellent. Please write the name of your partner on this sheet and the topic you got. That will be all for today."

As they exited the classroom, Rey looked around to see if Ben had stayed behind to talk to Ackbar. He hadn't. He wasn't in the hallway either, so Rey assumed he must have headed over to the Media lecture room.

She took a moment to relax before climbing the stairs. _Everything is going to be fine_ , she told herself firmly, _we'll figure it out_.

 _Hopefully._


	10. Chapter 10

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. She did not see Ben during the media class. Not that she looked around to see where he was. She definitely did not.

Rey ran into Rose as she was walking towards the Resistance before her shift at the library began.

"Hey, you!" Rose yelled. "Long time no see!"

"Well, whose fault is that, missy?" Rey said crossing her arms playfully. "Here I was, looking forward to talking to my beloved roommate last night, but she was nowhere to be seen!" she added dramatically.

"Uh, I, umm..."

"It's okay, I'm not judging. Unless it was bad sex," Rey winked at Rose.

"Oh, I'm not telling you anything now!" Rose laughed. "I'll just let you suffer for a while." Rey scowled.

"Speaking of suffering, Poe didn't take the break up well."

"No shit he didn't. He was waiting for me outside Coruscant last night at 3 a.m. and I literally had to hide in Ben's car to avoid talking to him."

"WAIT. WHAT? HOW? Why were you in Ben's car? Since when do you guys get along?"

It was hard to read Rose's expression, a combination of surprise, awe and frustration.

"We don't, he just gave me a ride home last night. We were both working late in Mustafar," Rey said. "I don't know why he did it though."

"I have a pretty good idea why," Rose said smirking. She let out a frustrated sigh at Rey's confusion. "He wants to get in your pants."

At that Rey started laughing so hard tears started forming in her eyes.

"Oh, believe me, he definitely wants nothing to do with me. He just wants to get along to make sure he aces Ackbar's class," she said after she calmed down.

"Whatever you say, Rey," Rose replied, smiling knowingly.

"I hate to cut this short, but my shift starts in 20 minutes and I need to go change and pick up some books. See you later Rose— that is if you decide you don't want to get laid tonight," she added with a wink.

Rose blushed and waved at her.

* * *

After 2 hours of reading in Mustafar, Rey was exhausted. She had gotten less than 3 hours of sleep the night before and still had to work until 11 p.m.

 _Only 5 more hours to go,_ she thought. She decided to take a break, so she pulled out her phone from her bag and texted Rose.

 _So, who are you banging?_

A couple of seconds later she saw Rose's reply.

 _I'm not telling._

 _It's Finn, isn't it? Poe had his suspicions._

Poe. _No, don't think about him_. It'll blow over in a couple of days and maybe you can try being friends instead.

No reply from Rose.

 _Come on, I'm super bored and haven't had any action in months! Please tell me. Please please please._

Still nothing.

Letting out a sigh, Rey threw her phone back inside her bag and started walking in between the stacks. She hadn't even bothered to ask what collections were being stored on this floor. Physics and Chemistry. Interesting. How and why did Solo come down here the other night?

" _He wants to get into your pants"_

Rose's words echoed in her head. She found herself wondering what it would be like, sleeping with him. If he's proportional to his height... _stop, it's never going to happen, he hates you and you hate him_.

 _But maybe, just maybe..._

Her thoughts were interrupted by some voices coming out of the elevator.

"I'm telling you, Hux's party on Saturday is going to be epic. You don't want to miss it," an incredibly tall, blonde woman said.

"I don't have time for parties, Phas, gotta work all weekend," came the all too familiar sound of Ben Solo's voice.

She spied on them from behind the stacks. She saw him lean over the counter to check something and looked around the room.

"You're always busy, you never have time for me anymore," the woman said seductively.

Ben turned around suddenly and pinned the woman to the wall, caging her with his body, which was firmly pressed against hers. Rey felt a pang of jealousy.

"When's your next class" She heard Ben whisper in Phas's ear, biting her earlobe playfully.

"In 45 minutes, can you handle that?" She replied cockily.

"Then you'll probably be late again," he answered, lifting her by the ass and sitting her on Rey's desk.

It all happened too quickly. She took a couple of steps back and hit her head on the nearest shelf. She winced in pain and surprise and let out a soft squeal.

Ben immediately froze.

"Who's there?" Phasma yelled out, standing from the desk.

Rey didn't know what to do. She was embarrassed, angry, but more than that, she felt betrayed, why she didn't really know. After a few seconds of pondering her options, she walked out of the stacks and onto the main floor.

"Well, you _are_ pretty, you can join in the fun if you want," Phasma said, and Rey was pretty sure she was serious about the offer.

Ben was pale and did not meet her eyes.

"No, thanks. And I would really appreciate it if you didn't have sex in here while I'm working. Especially not on my desk," she added, a look of pure disgust on her face. She was never sitting behind that counter again.

"In that case we'll take the party elsewhere," Phasma replied. "Come, Kylo, let's find ourselves a nice dark corner."

Kylo? Does Ben have a twin she doesn't know of? But then he looked at her and no, that was the same guy who had given her a ride last night. The same guy who insulted her on her first day. The guy who for some reason made her feel _things_.

Phasma picked up her own bag and looked at Ben expectantly.

"What are we waiting for? She already said she isn't interested in playing with us."

Ben's face and ears were crimson. It was the first time Rey noticed how large they were. Odd in an adorable way. _Stop_.

"Actually, I need to work tonight," Ben said, "I'll see you on Saturday."

"Ugh, you're such a tease. I swear, if your dick wasn't as big as it is I would never come back to you after this," she said before leaving.

Silence.

Long and awkward silence.

Rey eyed Ben angrily and he... looked ashamed, embarrassed, vulnerable.

"I... I didn't know you were... I checked..."

"You were going to fuck her on my desk."

Ben stared at his feet. He clearly didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry," he muttered.

But Rey wasn't satisfied. "Out of all the _dark corners_ in this fucking school where you could have banged that chick, did you have to do it on my desk? What the fucking fuck!"

"I said I'm sorry!" he yelled back.

"How are we supposed to work together now?"

He didn't say anything.

"Fuck!" Rey exclaimed.

Ben approached her carefully, never breaking eye contact. His eyes were pleading with her. Saying things he clearly didn't dare say.

After a couple of minutes of sulking, Rey relented. She grabbed her things and went to sit by a table.

She pulled out her computer and saw him standing over her.

"Are you pro-life or pro-choice?" She asked bluntly.

"Pro-choice," he said.

"That's a start," Rey said, relieved to hear they at least had one less obstacle in their way.

"What are you waiting for? Sit down so we can figure out how we're going to write this goddamn paper without killing each other."

"Are you always this bossy?" He asked, as he struggled to suppress a smile.

"Yes," Rey answered curtly, "you got a problem with that?"

"Nope."

"Then let's get to it."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: Rating change folks ;)

* * *

Ben Solo was never smooth with the ladies. So when Rey got into his car his heart started beating furiously in his chest and he didn't know what to say. He was snapped out of his thoughts when the radio went off at full volume.

 _Damn it,_ he thought, as he moved to turn it off. He didn't want Rey thinking he was a dark, metal-loving asshole. He was, but for some reason he didn't want her to think that.

She seemed tense. He could feel her anxiety, her eagerness to get out of the car. But then as he pulled up in front of their destination, she froze. His heart skipped a beat. Maybe she wanted to talk to him, or maybe even kiss him goodnight…

 _No, you fucking idiot, she just wants to hide from Poe_ , he cursed to himself. Why was he the only Solo man whom women were not attracted to?

Almost as if he'd summoned him with his mind, his father knocked on the glass. _Jesus fucking Christ._

Maybe he was trying to help him out with Rey. Maybe he was just teasing him, or trying to humiliate him. But both his presence and Poe's looming form by the entrance of the Resistance were more than enough to get him in a foul mood. He snapped at his father without hesitation.

He saw Han drag Poe away from the building. Perhaps he was _actually_ trying to give him a hand. But Rey was out of the car in an instant, rushing towards Coruscant. Ben got out and practically ran after her.

Her words cut through him like ice. He hadn't even thought about his choice of words when dismissing his father, how she could have interpreted them…

 _We could never be friends…_

He just watched as she turned around and went into the building, desperately trying to put as much distance between them as possible. He would never admit anything of the sort out loud, but his heart ached to the point where he needed comfort.

"I fuck everything up," he muttered darkly to himself.

 _Nobody wants you, boy_ , an icy voice in the back of his head said, _no one will ever love you_.

He sat on the ledge, resting his face in his hands, eyes wet. She was making him weak. Distracting him from his studies, from his goals, from what he really wanted in life.

 _But you'd rather have her_ , whispered a soft voice in his head.

 _No_ , said the first one, he wants power, _he wants to succeed and become the great man he's destined to be_.

* * *

If anyone asked Ben Solo what he did that night, he would unequivocally claim that he spent the whole night in his room, studying.

Because he would never admit what he actually did.

To be fair, Ben didn't really know how he got there, or more importantly, why he wanted to go there. All he knew was that one second his sitting outside the Resistance, and the next he was walking towards Alderaan. To see his mother. What in God's name was he thinking?

"Ben?" Leia asked him confused.

"Hey… umm… I know it's late… I was wondering if I could come in and talk," he said, not meeting his mother's eye.

"Now?" Leia asked, "it's the middle of the night!"

"Sorry, this was stupid, never mind," he said, turning around, ready to walk down the porch.

"Wait!" she yelled, "I'm just a little tired, but of course I want to talk to _you_."

"I can come back tomorrow," Ben said, staring at his feet. For someone so tall, he felt very small around his mother.

"No," Leia said firmly. "Stay. I'll start prepping the couch for you."

He didn't object, even though in any another circumstance he would have pointed out that his own room was within walking distance and that he would rather sleep in his own bed.

"Here," Leia said, handing him a cup of tea. He took it without saying a word, and Leia just eyed him expectantly. She knew her son well enough to know she would not get anything out of him unless he set his own rhythm. So she just waited.

Ben hesitated for a minute before saying sadly "There's a girl I like. And she hates me."

Leia stared at him, her eyes wide open as if she couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. Her son was coming to her for romantic advice. She wanted to yell in triumph. To hug him. To thank him for trusting her with his feelings.

But she didn't do any of those things. She just listened as Ben recounted his first encounter with Rey, and then he told her about his law class, and what he had said.

"So you drove her back here tonight," Leia concluded, "but Poe Dameron was there."

"Dad drove him away, but I… I said something stupid," he said closing his eyes.

"Well, it sounds to me like you've made some very poor decisions around her," she said. Ben glared at her. "But if she was as upset as you said she was tonight… maybe not all hope is lost yet."

"What do you mean?"

"If she didn't care about you at all, your words wouldn't have hurt her"

"But I blew it," Ben added miserably.

"Then try not to from now on," his mother said winking at him. "Let's go to sleep now, I need to be up early and you have a class at 8 if I'm not mistaken."

Leia got up from the couch and kiss her son's forehead tenderly, bidding him goodnight.

"Hey, mom?" Ben called after her.

"Mmm?"

"Thanks."

* * *

Ben thought the law class went fine. Nothing exceptional, he avoided making eye contact with Rey. He didn't want her to know he was hurt, that he had crawled back to his mother's house in the middle of the night in search of comfort.

He dashed out of the room as soon as the class was over, and decided to skip his media lecture so he could do some LSAT prep instead.

Halfway through one of the reading comprehension sections, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket.

 _I want you. You've been neglecting me this semester._

Phasma. Of course, he should've known.

She was his… well, Ben wasn't entirely sure what they were. They were not dating, that's for sure. He wouldn't even describe it as a friend with benefits type of arrangement since neither party would probably describe the other as a friend.

Ben had met Phasma at one his advisor's parties during his first year. Snoke had introduced them and implied that they could mutually benefit from each other's company.

"You must not be distracted from your ultimate goals, my young apprentices," Snoke had said, a cruel smile grazing his lips, "sometimes it is best to forgo attachments in favor of a more productive and satisfying arrangement."

Ben hadn't fully comprehended what Snoke had meant that night until he found himself being dragged back into his room by a mildly intoxicated Phasma.

"He wants us to be fuck buddies, you idiot," she'd said while taking off her top and unhooking her bra.

"What?" Ben exclaimed, confused beyond measure, both at the prospect of his advisor setting him up with another student and at the fact that there was a very eager and naked woman in his bedroom.

"Please tell me I'm not your first," Phasma had said, palming his hard erection through his jeans. Ben moaned lightly and trembled involuntarily.

"I see," she had said, kneeling in front of him, both of her hands working on liberating him of his belt and pants. "I'll suck you off first so you last a bit longer than 30 seconds during round two."

Before Ben could so much as grunt in agreement, her hands were firmly grasping his length and her tongue was playfully licking the head of his cock. Ben, whose eyes had closed the second her hands had made contact with his skin, looked down at her as she quickened the pace and started sucking on his dick harder.

He lasted, well, about 30 seconds. He didn't even have time to warn her before his cum shot into her mouth, moaning loudly and uncontrollably as she licked him clean.

"Good," Phasma said, wiping the remnants of his cum from her mouth on one of the bedsheets. "Let's try it again, but this time I get to go first," she added, guiding a still shocked Ben Solo to his bed and lying next to him.

His cock twitched at the memory, so he quickly sent her a response.

 _Meet me at Mustafar at 6. I'll give you what you need._

Ben put his phone away, without waiting for her answer, he already knew what it would be.

 _Good_ , he thought, _this will help me distract myself from Rey._

 _Rey._ If her schedule was regular, she would be working the stacks later tonight. He pictured her sitting on her desk naked, her legs wide open for him.

He took his phone out again and texted Phasma.

 _Lower levels. By the special collections. I want to take you on one of the desks._

Yes, that would do. Phasma would probably not care if he thought about Rey so long as she got her own release. And he always delivered.

* * *

He did not anticipate Rey already being there. Ben Solo wanted to be swallowed whole by the Earth when he saw her come out from behind the stacks, looking pissed. He heard Phasma flirting with her, asking her if she wanted to join them, and half his brain started imagining both women kissing him, while the other half wanted to run away from the scene before things got worse.

Once Phasma was out of sight, Ben felt free to apologize. He had never apologized to any other person as many times in such a short period of time as he had with Rey. And unlike other times, he actually felt guilty about his actions. She had so much power over him already if only she knew how far gone he was for her.

When Rey looked up at him and asked him about their research paper he let out a sigh of relief. The fact that she was still willing to work with him after what had just transpired eased his worry about never having an excuse to be around her again.

No, he would see her, as much as possible, and as often as he could.

 _Because you want to get an A on the paper, not because of the girl,_ said the icy voice in his head again.

 _Yeah, well, what if I want both?_ Ben thought defiantly.


	12. Chapter 12

By the end of her shift, Rey was very, very confused.

Everything about the man in front of her was puzzling. No one had come down to the lower levels while she was working, so Ben and her sat on one the larger tables by the entrance and started printing background materials for their research. She caught him staring at her multiple times, and every time she did he blushed furiously. She wasn't entirely sure if he was embarrassed about the events that had transpired earlier that evening, or if he was shy at his gawking at her.

They mostly worked in silence, and they got a fair amount of research done. He was thorough, which Rey found reassuring since she really wanted to prove her worth to professor Ackbar. It struck her how peaceful and sweet he looked when he thought no one was looking at him.

Ben let his guard down when he was working with her. She couldn't help but think he was trying to keep up an image of himself to the outside world, as if he was wearing a mask trying to pretend he was tough and aggressive. But not with her. Then she remembered what the girl, Phasma, said.

"Who's Kylo?" Rey inquired, as they were packing their things. Charlie had shown up a couple of minutes prior and Rey was starving, so she almost immediately gathered her things.

Ben was quiet. He was also stuffing his books into his bag, absentmindedly.

"He's no one," he answered after a minute. He paused again, before asking if she wanted to grab dinner with him.

"Sure," she said before she could stop herself. Rey found she'd actually enjoyed working with him, and did I mention she was starving?

He followed behind her as she dropped off her keys and they exited the library quietly.

"Do you like Korean food?"

"I like _all_ food," Rey replied. "I'm not very picky."

Ben chuckled at that, then stopped in his paces, mortified at his own reaction. Rey could see his brain at work, as if he was trying to summon his brooding alter ego.

"Don't," Rey said suddenly. "I like Ben better than Kylo."

Ben was completely taken aback by her comment. He stuck his hands in his pockets and stared at the ground as he said, "it's late, maybe we should do dinner another time."

"What are you afraid of?" Rey asked curiously.

Ben locked eyes with her, and she'd had never seen anything quite like it. His eyes were a dead giveaway of his inner turmoil. He looked so incredibly sad and miserable. Rey forgot everything he'd said and done around for a second and softened her gaze. Her eyes immediately turned to his plump lips, and she wondered what they would taste like.

Ben saw her eyes drift to his lips and froze, his heart threatening to come out of his chest. Carefully and slowly, he reached out with his hand to touch hers. The second his skin made contact with hers a surge of warmth went through her body. His pleading eyes were begging for her forgiveness and something else too. Her help. It was as if he was asking her to free him from his mask. Tears flowed freely down her face.

A cough behind her interrupted them and the spell was broken.

An old, unpleasant-looking man was giving them an odd look, a cross between a smirk and a glare.

"It's a bit late to be out at night, isn't it Kylo?" Snoke said to Ben. "I thought you would be in your room focused on your studies around this hour, what with the LSAT coming up in only a couple of weeks."

"Sorry," he muttered quickly, glancing between Rey and Snoke. It was unclear who he was apologizing to.

"And who is this _lovely_ lady?" Snoke asked, eyeing Rey up and down, sending a chill down her spine. Suddenly the air around them felt very cold. "Hopefully not a distraction, my dear apprentice."

"No," Ben said quickly. "She's just a classmate."

"Oh really? Which class?"

"The Law seminar," Ben answered truthfully. "She's my research partner."

"And here I thought you would be working alone," Snoke said calmly. "You see, my apprentice here is destined for greatness. He will get into a top law school and one day become a Supreme Court Justice, isn't that right Kylo?"

Ben didn't move. Snoke continued.

"And we won't let anything or anyone come in his way," Snoke said threateningly. "Now, if you'll excuse me I have somewhere to be tonight.

"Oh, and Kylo," he added, "come see me in my office first thing tomorrow. We need to discuss some... things."

Once Snoke left, Ben hung his head defeatedly. He ran a hand through his dark hair and Rey wondered what it would feel like touching it. She didn't scold herself mentally this time.

"Ben," she began, but as she saw his face she noticed his mask was back on.

"I'll give you a ride," he said.

"Ben," she tried again.

"Please, don't," he said angrily. But she could almost feel his pain.

He spun around and headed towards the parking lot. Rey didn't follow him. She could walk, or take the bus. He looked like he needed to be alone. Her heart ached for him. Who was this man who apparently exerted so much control over Ben's life?

Ben called after her from afar once he realized she hadn't moved. Her legs felt wobbly. She saw him give a frustrated sigh as he walked back to her.

"I need to do some more work tonight, so I would really appreciate it if you hurried up," he said bluntly.

"I'm going to walk home," Rey replied.

"Rey..." he began to object.

"I'm a big girl. I'll be fine," she told him.

Ben didn't look happy with her answer. If anything he looked worried.

"Give me your phone," he ordered.

"Why?"

"So I can put my number in there so you can call me if you change your mind," he answered with fake nonchalance.

Rey pulled out her phone and handed it to him. It looked so small in his large hands.

"There," he said, "call me if something happens."

"You mean if he get assaulted or raped?" she joked, "If you haven't heard there's a whistle for that."

Ben looked far from amused. "Don't joke about that," he told her sharply.

"Sorry, it was a stupid thing to say," Rey said feeling stupid.

"Promise you will call"

"How about I just text you when I'm back in the dorm?" she said, half-joking.

"Yes, do that," Ben said relaxing his shoulders.

They both stared at each other, wondering what to say next. Rey felt the urge to kiss him, but stopped herself.

"Goodnight, Rey," he said softly, almost tenderly, before walking away.

* * *

The walk back to the Resistance was a short one, and it went by quickly.

Once she was safely tucked in her bed, she opened her phone and looked for Ben's contact information. She hesitated for a minute before typing her message.

 _In bed. Just so you can sleep at ease._

His response came within seconds.

 _Good. Sleep tight, Rey._

She felt her heart constrict in her chest. Oh God, why was this happening to her? In spite of everything, Ben was really growing on her.

And she couldn't help herself from typing back.

 _You too, Ben._

* * *

A/N: Please review! I love reading your comments!

ToughSpirit I'm glad yo enjoyed Ben's POV chapter

Missing a Muse Sometimes people do stupid things to the people they care about. To me, Ben is just struggling between what he's expected to do/feel and what he really wants.


	13. Chapter 13

Ben went inside his room and slammed the door shut violently. His head was spinning. He was angry at Snoke for what he had said in front of Rey, ashamed at his inaction, stunned at her words. And the way she looked at him.

He sat behind his desk and closed his eyes. He kept repeating the same scene over and over again in his mind. She said she didn't want Kylo, she wanted Ben. She wanted _me_. She didn't like the condescending, selfish, determined man Snoke had turned him into over the past 3 years. No, she said she preferred Ben.

He was sure she was going to kiss him before Snoke interrupted them. He wouldn't have known what to do if she had. He'd never experienced romantic love, only physical pleasure. Sex for him had only been about releasing tension. Whether it was with Phasma, or with any other of the girls he had hooked up with the last couple of years, he had never been interested in showing affection for any other human being. He had been taught to treat sex as a simple business transaction between two willing parties. It wasn't even about how many women he'd slept with, but rather how he'd used and been used by them to satisfy carnal needs.

Ben Solo had never been kissed for any reason other than to initiate a sexual encounter. He'd never wanted to either— that is until tonight.

Her lips were all he could think of now. Ben wondered what she tasted like, whether she would enjoy kissing him too.

Yes, yes, she would. The way she was looking at him, he felt understood for a couple of minutes. And as crazy as it might sound since he barely knew her and for all he knew she could very well still hate him, he felt wanted, wanted by a girl whom he had hurt time and time again.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as he felt his phone buzzing, an incoming call from Phasma.

"Hey," Ben said.

"Glad to see you're still awake. Do you want me to come by your room so we can finish what we started?" Phasma asked seductively.

"Sorry, not tonight Phas," he said, although it didn't sound like he was actually sorry about it.

"Really? Interesting. I figured after our little run-in with that girl you might be in the mood for some action," she continued, "unless of course she already took care of you."

 _No, but I will certainly have her name on my lips when I jerk off in the shower in a couple of minutes,_ Ben thought.

"You know, Snoke texted me to see if I knew something about her," Phasma said.

"He did?" Ben asked, trying to sound nonchalant, "fascinating." He cringed inwardly. He didn't want Snoke looking into Rey. Or thinking about her.

"Listen, if you're not in the mood tonight I'll get back to work. Text me when you want to try taking me over that desk again. Or any desk, for that matter. You know where to find me."

She hung up the phone without saying anything else. He looked at his phone and saw a text come in from an unknown number. Rey.

He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. He pictured her in bed, naked under the sheets, rubbing her clit and whispering his name. His erection was straining in his pants, so he decided to go take that shower now. He bid her good night, took his clothes off, put on a bathrobe and walked to the bathroom.

Once he was in the shower, under the hot water, he let his imagination loose. He undressed Rey in his mind and started stroking himself. He imagined kissing her skin, down from her lips and neck all the way down to her stomach. He would remove her underwear with his teeth and immediately place his mouth on her clit. Yes, he would suck on her until she came on his tongue. God, he wanted to taste her, he thought as he applied more pressure on his cock, pumping harder and faster. Then he would lay down on the bed and have her ride him, he wanted to admire her body while she pleasured herself on his hard dick. She would bend over so he could suck her nipples and massage her breasts, and then he would grab her ass and pound into her until he...

"Humphhhh," Ben moaned as he spilled himself all over his hands and the bathroom floor. He quickly washed away the evidence and leaned his head back against the shower wall.

 _This girl is going to be the death of me_ , he thought, however, a smile crept up to his face. She wants _me_.

He finished washing, then put his bathrobe back on and headed back to his room. He suddenly realized how hungry he was, and wondered if Rey had eaten dinner yet.

After he changed into his sleepwear, a simple black short-sleeve shirt and black pants with white spaceships (courtesy of his mother, of course), he picked up his phone. She has texted him back, almost 20 minutes ago. Would he be testing his luck if he texted her again?

 _I guess we're about to find out_ , he thought, as he typed a new message and hit send.

* * *

Rey was lying on her bed when she heard the short ding that indicated she had received a new text. She couldn't stop thinking about _him_.

 _Did you end up getting dinner?_

Rey had to read the text over again to make sure she was still awake and that she was not imagining it. Then her stomach grumbled loudly and she realized that no, she hadn't eaten anything in hours. She was suddenly starving.

 _Nope, thanks for reminding me._

 _Should I be concerned? Forgetting to eat is pretty alarming ;)_

 _Cheeky bastard,_ Rey thought, biting her lower lip and firing her response.

 _If only you hadn't canceled dinner... it's your fault I'm starving now_

 _Can I make it up to you?_

 _Only if there's Chinese involved._

 _Meet me in the Crait common room in 20 minutes._

Rey put down her phone, smiling at her own boldness and at Ben's responsiveness.

Her excitement quickly turned into nervousness, as she looked at herself in the mirror and criticized her appearance. Her nude pajama shorts were very tight, and her white tank top left very little to the imagination. She decided to put her bra back on and threw on an open hoodie just to be safe.

She grabbed her phone and room key before checking in the mirror one more time, then headed downstairs and down the hall towards the passageway that led to Crait.

Ben was already there, unboxing at least 6 different entrées and several boxes of rice. It all smelled wonderful.

She looked up at him questioningly and he shrugged before saying "I didn't know what you liked."

She smiled, then walked towards the table. "It all looks delicious," she said beaming, grabbing a plate from the counter and beginning to pile food on her plate.

Rey threw herself onto the couch and started devouring her food. Ben joined her shortly afterward, setting his plate on the coffee table.

It was only after her stomach had calmed down that she noticed Ben's attire.

"How did you get all of this delivered so quickly?" she asked.

"I didn't, I drove to Ming's to pick it up," he answered, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you telling me you walked into a Chinese restaurant at midnight wearing spaceship pajamas and no shoes?" Rey asked chuckling.

"Mrs. Ming clearly didn't think my clothes and lack of shoes were a problem," he said smirking.

Rey hummed in agreement. Ben tried to commit that sound to his memory.

She gave him a stern yet playful look when she caught him staring a little too intently at her shorts. She reached out and poked his stomach and he giggled.

Rey opened her eyes when she realized what she'd done. What she had discovered. Realization dawned on Ben too, but before he could move off the couch she had tickled him again, this time purposefully.

Ben let out an uncharacteristic squeal, followed by laughter, and tried to escape her touch.

Rey was relentless. She wasn't sure why she suddenly felt comfortable enough around him to do that, but there was something so attractive about a ticklish large man.

"Truce!" Ben yelled, laughed, "please, Rey, please!"

"What are you going to do if I don't stop, Solo?" she asked while biting her lip and cornering him by the window.

"Excuse me," came an annoyed voice from the doorway. Poe was watching them attentively, shooting daggers at Ben. "Never mind me, I wouldn't want to interrupt whatever the hell this is," he added angrily.

Ben stepped in front of Rey protectively before saying "Relax, we're just having dinner. We had a long night working in the library."

"Then, by all means, carry on," Poe huffed before storming away.

Rey poked her head into the hallway to make sure he couldn't hear them anymore.

"You really did a number on him," Ben said, barely containing his delight.

"Stop smirking, it isn't funny!" she yelled at Ben without malice, "I feel terrible about the way things turned out."

"You want to talk more about it?" Ben asked, sitting on the couch once more.

"Not really, I'd rather not think about him at all right now," she said. "It's almost 2, I should probably go to sleep," she said before failing to stifle a yawn.

Ben looked slightly disappointed, standing up and offering to walk her to her room. She accepted, and they made their way back to Coruscant.

They reached the door to Rey's room and Rey cursed inwardly after she uttered the cliched phrase "Well, this is me."

Rey poked his stomach again playfully, but he instead of moving away he grabbed her hand and placed it on his chest over his heart. She could feel it beating rapidly. She opened her mouth but closed it immediately, looking alarmed after she heard the sound of glass shattering inside her room.

The door was unlocked, so it swung right open when she turned the handle.

"Eeeeeek!" Rose shrieked.

"Rose! Are you okay?"

Ben had come into the room behind her and they both felt their cheeks redden when they saw Finn awkwardly emerge from under the covers.


	14. Chapter 14

"ROSE!" Rey yelled.

Both Finn and Rose were on the floor desperately trying to locate their clothes to put them back on. Their initial shock had been replaced by shame and awkwardness, and neither one dared say anything out loud.

Rey had forgotten Ben had come into the room with her and had been quietly observing the situation unfold.

"Don't you have a single room?" Ben asked Finn, grinning and clearly amused.

Rose hit her head against her desk when she heard him talk. Rey quickly moved by her side to help her, but she was frozen to the spot, looking at Ben up and down with her mouth open. After a couple of seconds she must have realized she was still partially undressed, because she grabbed a towel that had been drying on a chair and threw it around her body to cover it up. She was no longer staring at him intently; instead her eyes were darting back and forth between Rey and Ben.

"Uh... sorry... we... I thought... we didn't know if you were planning on sleeping in here tonight..." Finn began. He was fully dressed now and he was tying his shoes awkwardly.

His comment took Rey by surprise.

"Where would I be sleeping if not here?" She asked curiously, with a hint of annoyance. Surely not with Poe, they would be insane to believe that.

Rey felt Ben's fingers pressing lightly against her lower back. She spun around and lost her balance, but he caught her quietly and placed a gentle hand on her arm.

"It's late, I should get going," he said, although the way he was touching her led her to believe he didn't want to go anywhere. Rey pictured him taking his shirt off and climbing into bed with her. _How good would it feel to have his warm body pressed up against mine,_ she wondered.

"You're right," she said softly, "I'll walk you out."

Rey saw Rose's jaw drop at that. She kept tapping on Finn's leg, trying to get his attention, as if she needed confirmation that what she was witnessing was indeed real.

"As for you two," Rey said pointedly at the pair, "don't move. I'm not done with you yet."

Rey escorted Ben down the hallway until they reached the stairs. He hadn't uttered a word since they exited the room, but when Rey's eyes made contact with his he started laughing.

"Stop laughing!" Rey said poking him in the chest trying to sound serious even though a smile had already started forming on her face. "I don't even know what I'm going to tell them when I go back."

"I would start by thanking them for not doing it on your bed," he said, chuckling lightly at Rey's panicked response. "Relax, it was still made, you'll still have a chance to break it in yourself."

It is unclear what emboldened Rey to follow this line of conversation, but it was probably related to the fact that she had spent most of her evening fantasizing about the tall man before her and that Ben brought out a side of her she didn't know existed.

"What makes you think I haven't 'broken it in' already?" She asked playfully, taking one step forward and locking eyes with him. They were dangerously close to one another, so close she heard him take a deep breath and felt his body shiver.

Ben bent his head down carefully, lifting his hand to brush a loose strand of Rey's hair behind her ear, and leaning into her ear, where he quietly whispered, "You're going to be the death of me."

His dark voice made her whole body shiver, and that coldness soon was replaced by a warm desire.

But before Rey could move, Ben turned his head lightly and pressed his lips on her cheek softly. She could feel her insides melting, her heart beating faster than ever before, her eyes fluttering close.

"Text me if you need anything," Ben said, his lips only an inch away from her skin. And then he pulled away and she heard him climbing down the stairs back to his room.

Rey was overcome by all the emotions flowing through her body. Happiness. Trust. Lust. Lov...

Her eyes flew wide open at the realization. Shaking the thought out of her, she made her way back to her room.

Finn and Rose were sitting, fully clothed, on the latter's bed, both eager-looking and exuding curiosity. Rey went first.

"Okay, so... please don't do that here anymore, okay? I mean, you can, just not when I'm coming back to sleep here..."

Finn nodded and lowered his head, but Rose didn't flinch. Rey could tell her brain was going at a hundred miles per hour.

"I. Want. To. Know. _Everything_ ," Rose said. She looked like a child opening gifts on Christmas morning.

Rey shifted uncomfortably. "There isn't much to tell, actually. Ben and I, we just... I don't know... I guess we just reached an understanding."

"Is that 'understanding' that you want fill every room with sexual tension and exchange various bodily fluids?" Rose asked feigning innocence.

"Rose!" Rey yelled, blushing furiously. "After tonight's events I think you're in no position to be the one doing the questioning!"

Finn, who already looked uncomfortable, made a move for the door.

"Umm, ah, I should go... again, sorry, Rey. I'll see you tomorrow, Rose."

Once he was gone, Rose practically jumped on Rey.

"What is he like? Is he gentle? Is he a good kisser? Did he make you cum first?"

"NOTHING has happened," Rey said, pulling the covers over her head. _Yet_ , she thought, and her body flushed in approval.

"But you want something to happen," Rose commented, sitting on her bed. She clearly wasn't going to let this go.

Letting out a sigh, Rey emerged from under the covers.

"Fine. Yes. Satisfied?"

"Not even close," Rose said, beaming. "In the three years that I've known him, I've never seen him date anyone. I have no idea what he's like in private. But guessing from your look right now, he can't be that bad," she added with a wink.

"He's... intense... in a strange yet good way," Rey confessed.

"Is he a good kisser?"

"Jesus, Rose, is that all you care about?"

"Of course not! I'd rather know if he has a huge dick, but it didn't seem like you guys had gone all the way yet."

"I'm too tired for this. Can we do this another time? Preferably never?" Rey asked hopefully.

"Okay, just one more thing?" Rose begged.

"Fire away."

"Do you think he can make you happy?"

Rey hesitated for a second before answering, mostly due to the fact that she hadn't had time to ask this herself.

"Yes," she said firmly. "Yes, I think he can."

* * *

Rey woke up very late the next morning. As she snoozed her alarm she saw a text from Ben that had been sent around 8 am.

 _Morning, Rey. Sorry I kept you up late last night. I can't stop thinking about you._

Rey held her phone close to her chest and smiled so hard her cheeks started to hurt.

This is the man who had insulted her at every turn, whose reputation preceded him. The same person who, not 24 hours ago, had almost had sex with another woman on her desk.

She must be insane for liking him. Only a crazy person could fall for someone like that.

 _It's settled then,_ Rey thought happily, _I'm insane_.


	15. Chapter 15

_No, I won't be that girl,_ Rey thought to herself. _If Ben Solo wants to see me_ , he should reach out. She wasn't going to go about chasing after him, like some desperate teenage girl. _Besides, if he is actually thinking about me… well, we shall see._

By noon, Rey's resolve was faltering. She hadn't replied to his morning text and hadn't heard from Ben since. She anxiously checked her phone for the umpteenth time. Still nothing. Should she say something back? Ask him out? Tell him she's starting to fall for him?

Her stomach rumbled so loudly the people sitting nearest her in the library looked up and stared at her. Maybe that's it. Lunch. Simple, casual, informal.

 _Rey: I'm starving. Are you free for lunch?_

Sent. There. If he was waiting for her to respond, this should be good enough. Rey leaned back on her chair and grabbed the same paper she'd been attempting to finish reading all morning. It wasn't boring, but her mind had been elsewhere. With every page she turned she thought of him. The way he'd whispered in her ear. His soft lips on her cheek. She couldn't help wondering what they tasted like. She wanted to feel them, on her lips, her neck, her…

Her phone buzzed.

Rey excitedly put the paper down and looked at her phone, disappointment quickly showing in her face.

 _Poe: Can we talk?_

 _Do I have to?_ Rey wondered.

 _Poe: I'm sorry about the way I acted. I just… like you. A lot. If you can only give me another chance, maybe we can start over._

 _Maybe I should just tell him I'm seeing someone else_ , Rey thought.

 _But am I?_ She sure as hell wanted to see more of Ben… but last night's events certainly hadn't established anything.

Maybe she should tell him she doesn't want to date right now. But that's not entirely true… what if she and Ben do get together? It would make her look like a hypocrite.

After pondering the different possible replies in her head, she settled for none. She put her phone away and returned to her paper. She would eventually have to deal with him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that getting Poe off her back wasn't going to be easy.

An hour passed since she texted Ben, and she was getting hungrier by the minute. _I'll guess I'll do lunch on my own today._ Rey packed her things and walked towards the food trucks stationed near the Resistance, where she picked up some dumplings and cold noodles. She brought them upstairs with her to her room, that was _thankfully_ empty. She wasn't sure she'd be able to eat anything at all if she walked into her roommate having sex again.

At some point between her finishing her food and sitting on her bed going through her notes, she must have fallen asleep, because she awoke 3 hours later to Rose entering the room.

"Oh shit, did I wake you up?" Rose asked apologetically, "I'm sorry we kept you up last night, you must be exhausted."

"Am fine," Rey replied sleepily, rubbing her eyes and yawning. "What time is it anyway?"

"Almost 5 p.m." Rose said, "A couple of people from the Resistance are heading over to Takodana to watch the sunset if you want to come with."

"Oh, that sounds great! I'll probably need to stay up tonight to finish some work… are you leaving soon?"

"In half an hour, why?"

"I'm going to go take a quick shower and then I'll come join you," Rey said.

As she was wrapping her bathrobe around her body, she picked up her phone from the floor. No new texts. _He's probably busy_ , Rey thought.

 _Or maybe he changed his mind and is ignoring you._ Worry filled her insides. Should she text again? No, that would be desperate.

She threw her phone on the bed and walked towards the communal bathrooms. As she entered the shower, she pressed her back against the cold tiles. He liked her… It wasn't all in her head, right? Rey had a bad feeling about his silence.

Once dry and dressed, Rey grabbed her jacket and descended to the lobby of the Resistance, where a group of people, including Finn and Rose, were already gathered. Finn muttered a quick hello to Rey without making eye contact.

"Hey, Rose, Poe isn't coming tonight, is he?" Rey asked looking around, suddenly aware that she had forgotten how active he was in the Resistance.

"He has soccer practice tonight," Rose replied, "I'm guessing he'll stay in to work and then head over there."

"Good, because I'm not ready to deal with him. He texted today, saying he wanted to start over, and I honestly don't know what to say to him," Rey told Rose sadly.

"Do you want me to tell him instead?" Rose offered, "Or at least prepare him so he isn't too disappointed when you tell him you're done."

"I can't ask you to do that! He's your friend!" Rey exclaimed.

"Sure you can. He'll get over it, he's just a bit too persistent… for his own good."

"Fine," Rey accepted. "Just tell him I don't want to commit to anything right one. Or whatever you think is best."

"In that case," Rose said cheekily, "maybe I should just tell him you're into taller, brooding men."

Rey replied only with a glare.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding," Rose said giggling, "but he sure as heck will be very pissed off if you do actually decide to go out with You-Know-Who."

"For me to date You-Know-Who, he needs to text back," Rey replied sadly. "I haven't heard back from him since this morning."

"He's probably in a basement somewhere, with no reception and surrounded by a massive pile of LSAT prep books. He'll text once he emerges from the shadows."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Rey replied, still feeling worried, as they made their way over to the parking lot where several cars were waiting to take them to Takodana.

* * *

Rose wasn't right. The evening came and went, and still no word from Ben. As Rey climbed under the covers she looked at his message again. Why would he tell her such things and then ignore her? Was he as cruel and cold-hearted as everyone else made him out to be?

 _We have class together tomorrow_ , Rey remembered. _He won't be able to ignore me then… right?_

* * *

A/N: So sorry this took so long! The last couple of months have been hectic. I'll try to post another chapter tomorrow. :)


	16. Chapter 16

"Come again?" Rey asked, her facial expressions giving away her confusion.

"Miss Niima, this is as much news to me as it is to you," Professor Ackbar replied. "I received an email this morning from his academic advisor stating that Mr. Solo was dropping all of his classes this semester to fulfill his credits through an internship in the Senate."

Rey's eyes went wide. Ben was dropping this class. And the other class they shared as well.

"Why?" Rey asked, the slight tremor in her voice betraying her disappointment.

"It seems Professor Snoke thought it best for young Solo to gain some hands-on policy experience before heading to law school.

"As for you, you mustn't worry. Since all the other students have already begun working on their respective papers, I won't be able to match you with another group. However, you will only be expected to turn in a paper that is half the length of the others'."

Rey felt offended by his implication she wouldn't be able to complete the work on her own. "I'm perfectly capable of producing the same type of work alone."

"It's settled then," Professor Ackbar said, looking rather impressed at her response. "You will continue to work on the paper alone moving forward. No changes. Oh, and Miss Niima, please come see me after class is over, I need to have a quick word with you before you leave."

The class went by in a blur, and Rey found it impossible to concentrate on what her classmates were debating. Maybe it was due process, maybe it was free speech. She didn't know. Her mind was focused only on what had happened with Ben.

Once the other students started packing up their bags, Rey moved towards Ackbar's desk.

"Ah, yes, Miss Niima," the professor said. "It has come to my attention you have not yet selected an academic advisor."

"Yes, professor," she replied, "since I'm only an exchange student, I did not think I would have enough time to work with him/her."

"I disagree. I think, under the right influence, that you will be able to achieve much more here in a year than most students do over the course of their degree. Given what I've seen so far, and your determination today to pursue such a challenging assignment on your own, I must recommend you work after hours with a Professor in the field who can guide you and, potentially, help you get into graduate school, should you decide to continue your education in Corellia."

Rey was taken aback. Her? Going to grad school in Corellia? She'd never considered it an actual possibility, since she had barely been able to afford her exchange year at the university, to begin with.

"I don't think I would be able to afford coming here for graduate school, professor," Rey replied defeatedly, bowing her head.

"Well, that's what your academic advisor is for, dear," he said smiling, "with proper guidance, I'm sure you'll find many opportunities to continue your studies at Corellia, free of charge.

"The university offers many scholarships to the best and brightest. I believe you would do well here," he added.

Rey was in shock. When she came back to it, she said, perhaps a little too loudly, "Yes! That would be fantastic!"

"I'm glad you agree," the professor said nodding.

"So you will advise me?" Rey asked curiously, a wide smile still on her face.

"I don't take on any new students since I'm planning on retiring at the end of the year. Professor Skywalker would probably be a better fit for you. I can arrange an introductory meeting if you'd like."

Rey chewed on her lip nervously. "I guess… yes… yes."

"Brilliant. I will send you an email with the details as soon as I talk to him," Ackbar said, adding with a wink, "in the meantime, I suggest you work extra hard on your research, now that you've taken on Solo's workload as well."

With that, he bid her goodbye and left her standing in the classroom alone. The momentary happiness she had experienced regarding her academic prospects had been replaced with confusion and sadness.

Ben Solo was gone.

* * *

Rey met up with Rose for lunch in the Coruscant patio but didn't bring up the situation with Ben. She was having a hard time processing what Ackbar had said and going through his explanation again would not make things any easier.

Rose was going on and on about her plans for Thanksgiving, and how apparently she had asked Finn if he wanted to join her family this year.

"And he said yes!" Rose exclaimed excitedly, "But now I'm nervous… what does that mean for us? Are we moving too fast? Will my family like him?"

Rey smiled weakly. "Finn is a great guy, everyone loves him. As for what this means for your relationship, it's up to you two to find out."

"Where are you spending the holiday?" Rose inquired. Even though Thanksgiving was almost a month away, people had already begun making plans.

"No idea," Rey replied, "I figured I could just stay here and work on my civil rights paper. I'm sure that with most people gone, the Resistance will be nice and quiet, a perfect place to study."

"You can't spend Thanksgiving alone!" Rose yelled, perhaps a little too loudly. Several people around them turned to look at Rey, some giving her a look of pity.

Before she could reply, however, Rey felt a hand gently grabbing her shoulder. She lifted her eyes only to be met by Leia Organa's, the dean of the Resistance.

"What is that I hear? You don't have anywhere to go for Thanksgiving?" she asked.

"Well, no, not really, we don't really celebrate it back home, I thought I could spend that time working," Rey replied shyly.

"Nonsense," Leia said brightly, "Why don't you join Han and I this year? I'm sure he'd be thrilled to have someone who hasn't heard all of this 'exciting' stories yet."

"Are you serious?" Rey blurted out.

"Of course, my dear."

"Then yes!" Rey said beaming. There was something so reassuring about Leia's presence that made Rey temporarily forget about all her worries.

"Brilliant," Leia said smiling, "In the meantime, let me know if there's anything else we can do for you to make your year here more pleasant. We want exchange students to enjoy themselves, too."

"That's awesome, Rey," Rose said as they both observed Leia retreating in the distance. "But you do know what that means, right?" she added, giggling.

"What?"

"It means," she said, pausing for a dramatic effect, "that you will be spending the break with You-Know-Who."

Rey froze. Ben. He was Leia and Han's son. Of course! How did she not remember that before accepting?

Ben…

"There's something I need to tell you."

* * *

A/N: A new chapter! Please let me know what you think!


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